Rachel Rising Volume 5 Review: The Witch and The Serial Killer

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

It’s volume 5 of Terry Moore’s ‘Rachel Rising’ and protagonist Rachel seems to be done dying. She is now on a serious mission to find out who killed her the first time, leaving those ghastly indentation marks on her neck. Her strongest ally? The freaky little serial-killer girl: Zoey.

If you remember, Zoey murdered the Satanic entity called Malus in Rachel Rising Volume 4. Malus was inhabiting the body of a priest, and his goal was to keep an eye on Zoey, watch her grow, and then impregnate her so that she could give birth to Satan’s spawn. Zoey, of course, would have none of it and killed him at the first opportunity. Unfortunately, there was a witness…

Titled ‘Night Cometh’, volume 5 collects Issues 25-30 of ‘Rachel Rising’ and opens with Rachel brewing a magical herbal concoction to treat Aunt Johnny’s wounds. Soon after, the group examines a dying note left by Aunt Carol, the woman who had poisoned Jet, Rachel, Johnny, and herself. Johnny is convinced the letter doesn’t sound like Carol at all. Later, when a suicide victim arrives at the morgue where she works, Johnny is shocked to find that his final note is identical, word for word, to Carol’s. This confirms her suspicion that a serial killer may be on the loose in their small town Manson, and now, they need to track this person down.

One of the more surprising (and oddly funny) developments in this volume of Rachel Rising is the budding friendship between Rachel and pint-sized psychopath Zoey, they’re like a dark, twisted Batman and Robin. They even go for haircuts together, and Terry Moore gives Rachel bangs, making her look uncannily like Sabrina the Teenage Witch… if Sabrina dabbled in murder and resurrection.

There’s a beautifully drawn rooftop scene where Rachel stands atop a high-rise like a vigilante, while Zoey quietly sits on the ledge, both thinking about catching the new killer in Manson. In her own way, Rachel is becoming the town’s silent protector. Gotham has Batman, Manson has Rachel.

But it is Zoey, who is turning out to be the most entertaining character in ‘Rachel Rising’. With pigtails and an innocent schoolgirl facade, she’s a brutal serial killer, always ready to crush someone to death. But when she’s not busy bludgeoning her next victim, she’s weirdly likable. Issue #29 puts Zoey in the spotlight, unfolding across rain-soaked panels and culminating in a violent clash with a human she believes is under Malus’s control.

Terry Moore’s artwork is stunning throughout this volume, and for once, it’s not snowing nonstop like in earlier issues. While the plot doesn’t deliver any big shakeups, the town of Manson is still knee-deep in mysterious deaths. And in a not-so-shocking twist, Rachel seems dead again… but let’s be real, rising is kind of her thing.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars. ‘Rachel Rising‘ is also on Kindle Unlimited.

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